New books focus on the Belt and Road Initiative

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences released two books on the Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing on Wednesday to mark its 10th anniversary this year.

The essay collection Belt and Road Initiative: Past, Present and Future, covers areas including politics, international relations, economy, technology, history and archaeology.

It was written by Chinese and European scholars, who shared their own experience and observations of the development of China-Europe relations and the construction of the BRI.

Kostas Gouliamos, former rector of the European University Cyprus and an ordinary member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, who was one of the anthology's two editors-in-chief, pointed out in the conclusion that the civilizations of China and Europe have much in common.

They have not only supported each other on important international issues, but have also deepened dialogue through mutual initiatives, which are indispensable for social and cultural progress, he wrote.

The 2023 English-language edition of the Handbook of the Belt and Road, explains the background, concept and content of the BRI in the form of keyword entries to make it more accessible to readers.

First published in 2018, the handbook has been published in English, Romanian, Polish, Korean and Hebrew, and will be translated into 11 more languages, according to Zhao Jianying, head of the China Social Sciences Press, the publisher of both books.